Bentley Continental Flying Spur

2012 Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed First Test

A Sports Sedan for the Ultra-Wealthy

While many Bentley owners choose to roll in the back of their stately sedans, the Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed is a true driver's car best experienced from behind the wheel. Its acceleration and handling capabilities make it feel more like a midsize sport sedan than its hulking mass suggests.

When you tack the word "Speed" onto a car's name, it had better be fast, and the speedier Flying Spur (first introduced in 2009) does not disappoint. Bentley upped the ante over the standard Flying Spur by increasing horsepower from 552 hp to 600 hp and torque from 479 lb-ft to 553 lb-ft, gains of 9 percent and 15 percent, respectively. Suspension and chassis tweaks include a 0.4-inch-lower ride height, stiffer dampers and springs, larger anti-roll bars, solid-mounted front sub-frame, and stiffer rear bushings. The electronic power steering has been recalibrated and a "Dynamic" mode has been added to the Bosch 8.1 ESP system, further amping-up the car's performance character. The suspension hunkers down on 20-by-9.5-inch multi-spoke alloy wheels wrapped in custom Pirelli P-Zero rubber.

Fire it up and the twin-turbo W-12 engine roars to life before settling into a soft hum. Power is routed to all four wheels through a six-speed ZF automatic transmission with paddle shifters. With all that torque on tap from a mere 1750 rpm, few revs are needed to accelerate the big sedan beyond posted speeds. While merging toward the left lane from an on-ramp, the Flying Spur Speed effortlessly turns 55 mph into near triple-digit speeds. The exhaust note is subdued until the tach swings past 5000 rpm, then the W-12 screams its war cry to the 6000-rpm redline.At the test track, the Flying Spur Speed doesn't disappoint, sprinting to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds and continuing on to finish the 1320-foot dash in 13.2 seconds at 106.1 mph. Fitted with the standard brake system with massive 16.0 -- by-1.4-inch front and 13.2-by-0.9-inch vented rotors, our tester came to a halt in 102 feet -- only one foot longer than the 2013 Shelby GT500 we just flogged. Its 0.98 g skidpad and figure eight time of 25.7 seconds at 0.71 g are downright sports-car-like. Not bad for a 2.8-ton sedan.

For those precious few who actually want to track their Flying Spur Speed, there's also an available ceramic brake package with 16.6-by-1.6-inch front and 13.2-by-0.9-inch rear ceramic rotors and eight-piston calipers. The package reduces 44 pounds in rotating and unsprung mass, according to Bentley.If your chauffeur is taking you for a ride, the Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed rolls smoothly about town, even while traveling quickly over rough patches or railroad crossings. Its seats are comfortable but also keep passengers snug during spirited driving.

Inside, the cabin is as plush as you'd expect from Bentley, with diamond-quilted patterns on the seats and door panels. It takes at least 11 hides of leather to trim the interior of the Continental Flying Spur Speed. Bentley offers 17 colors for the leather and 16 colors for seat piping. Our tester came in Portland, a medium-tan color, with Burnt Oak accents and mirror-matched, unbleached burr walnut veneer trim. The interior is roomy and all four outboard seating positions recline. Visibility is good all around and it's not difficult to navigate through tight spots and its back-up camera and park distance control make parking a breeze.While the Flying Spur Speed will impress all but the most jaded of the one-percenters, there are a few quibbles.Our tester's $7180 1100-watt Naim premium sound system could use more equalization adjustments than just treble, mid-range, and bass. Lesser systems offer better sound tuning capability. A dedicated subwoofer would also be a welcome addition. Despite its lack of adjustability, the Naim system's sound reproduction is unmatched. Even at three-quarter volume (as far as I dared try), the speakers were clean, clear, and had my ears ringing after I jammed out for a while.

The navigation isn't as intuitive as some competitors' models, and screen graphics are limited to white and a red-orange color on a black background. The small information screen between the speedometer and tachometer in the gauge cluster tries to compensate for the low-mounted main infotainment screen. A traditional moonroof is standard, but a panoramic-style glass roof would be welcome. The small front cupholders hint at its German roots and can't accommodate much larger than half-liter water bottles.The Flying Spur Speed starts at $215,195 (with gas guzzler tax and destination) and options quickly boosted the price of our tester to $245,440. Bespoke models are more expensive still, with prices approaching that of the Bentley Mulsanne, which starts around $290,000 and is nearly a foot longer than the Flying Spur Speed.Yes, the W-12 powered Spur Speed is still a mighty impressive car, but waiting in the wings is the Bentley Continental Flying Spur V8, no doubt powered by the same twin-turbo 500-hp 4.0-liter V-8 that just made its debut under the hood of the Continental GT. In our testing, the new V-8 GT coupe was 0.2 second faster to 60 mph and 0.1 second faster in the quarter mile than the last 567-hp Continental GT W-12 we tested, while matching its lateral g around the skidpad. Not only that, but the GT V8 starts about $20,000 less than the W-12 model and is EPA-rated at 15/24 mpg, for the handful of Bentley owners who care about such matters. How close will the performance of the Continental Flying Spur V8 be to the top-of-the-line Flying Spur Speed W-12 model? We'll know soon enough.

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